“We were looking to offer our students options that are not currently available through the Department of Defense [and its Food Distribution Program] but would be available through The Common Market,” said Allison Brown, senior district manager for OrganicLife. The district made these purchases in partnership with The Common Market with funding support from the USDA’s Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Program.
The Illinois Public Health Institute and the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub have announced their first round of 16 recipients for the Spark and Innovation Collaborative Awards.
The Illinois Public Health Institute and the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub will work with the Spark and Innovation Collaborative Awards recipients throughout the grant period to support school food system and marketplace improvements and promote systems-level change. The Common Market Great Lakes's Spark Award grant project is titled: “Lowering Adoption Barrier to Regionally Sourced Foods in Chicagoland Schools: Exploring Manufacturing, Food Service Operations and Acceptability of Regional Black Bean and Beef Blended Products in School Cafeterias”.
Eliana Pinilla, Director of Partnerships, Great Lakes Region at The Common Market, discusses with Amy Dolan the need to "connect communities to good food grown by sustainable family farmers." She explains that when institutions get more of their food directly from local farms, the quality of food they serve—and the health and wealth of the entire region—get better. Eliana breaks down how The Common Market helps make it all happen and the vision she has for future generations.
In Ballard Spahr’s most recent pro bono representation of The Common Market, lawyers from the firm’s Business and Transactions Department advised on a strategic merger that extends the nonprofit’s network of healthy food hubs to the Greater Chicago area.
The Common Market, a renowned nonprofit local food distributor, is proud to announce its acquisition of Local Foods, a decade-old local food wholesaler in the Chicagoland area. This strategic acquisition represents a significant step forward in advancing the cause of local, sustainable food while creating a more resilient regional food supply chain.
This dynamic 60-minute webinar explores the intersection of the USDA Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) and Statewide Local Food Purchasing Incentives (LFPIs). This webinar is divided into three sections, each featuring panelists representing states across the nation. Our very own Eliana Pinilla-Ryhal (representing Illinois) helps paint a picture of how existing LFPIs supported the implementation of LFS and how LFS was used to expand existing LFPIs.
Our friendly and educated team is here to partner with you every step of the way. Connect today to learn of all the ways to partner with The Common Market.
"Being able to connect to a distributor and an organizer like The Common Market - that allows us to reach a local food producing community in a major way - is for us, a dream come true."
— Lucy Kerman, Ph.D., Vice Provost, University and Community Partnerships, Drexel University